waiting for a load

[beachbum20714]

i do not like to sit around waiting,couple of hrs is fine,but not days.is there a way around this?just checking into this before i jump in with both feet.i have not started expediting as of yet.just looking it all over and asking alot of questions before i do.

 

[terryandrene]

Earl:

The good news is we sometimes get a run offer while we're on a run; we sometimes get an offer one or two hours after a run and we often wait a day or two for the next offer. There are a lot of variables that affect the wait time. Your carrier, your location in relation to that carrier's customers, time of day, time of quarter and time of year. Being that we are more like the ambulance service of the surface transportation industry, we have to wait for the customer to need us. There is very little dedicated loads in expediting, mainly because we deal in rush orders to bring parts to fix a problem; to fill last minute needs for unforseen requirements; to solve shipping problems created by postponed thinking; to rescue freight not taken by other carriers, etc, etc.

Our wait is usually rewarded, however, because expedited freight garners premium revenue for the carriers and the drivers. As an example: I had a run on monday that delivered tuesday morning. I was home from tuesday until my next offer on friday, but the two runs paid $960 and I'm home for the weekend. That's slow and below average, but not bad for a van in January.

The other good news is that the straight trucks and tractor/trailers are much more in demand, so they tend to sit a lot less than the typical van this time of year.

 

[LDB]

There will be times you are pre-dispatched with a load before you even deliver the one in the cargo box and they'll ask you about the second load that you'd have to run after your 10 hour break. There will be other times you'll deliver Friday in the daytime and you won't get another job till Monday sometime or else you'll deliver somewhere that isn't a hot freight zone on Tuesday and maybe not get a job till Thursday. You can always move to a better area and depending on the company they may suggest a move and give you a little bit of fuel money to make it. There's just no way in this business to limit yourself to an hour or two between runs. For that you'd probably have to look into a general freight OTR truckload carrier. Then you'll run pretty much all the time except your required DOT breaks.

Leo Bricker, owner trucks 3034, 4958
OOIDA 677319
73's K5LDB
EO Forum Moderator 1+ Years of Service
Expediters Online.com - The Best is Getting Better!
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[ATeam]

We recently found ourselves in a slow freight area. On Thursday we accepted a load that did not pick up until Monday. That meant we'd be sitting Fri, Sat and Sun. We took the load because we saw nothing better coming our way at the time. It was a better choice than deadheading to a busier freight center. There is no getting around it. Such waits happen in expediting.

If you don't like to sit, you might want to change your mind about sitting. It will be easier to change your mind about sitting than to change your location or career when waiting a few days for a load is the wisest choice.

 

[X1_SRH]

The alternative to waiting is deadheading. The only experience that I can tell you about is my own - so here goes:

My theory was that time is the only commodity that is irreplaceable. I could always make more money, but it is impossible to make more time. I was always willing to invest some money into my available time and deadhead to a better place to recoup that money and make more money in my next available block of time. Everybody has a different business plan - that was mine.

I'm not going to tell everyone that this is a "magic key to success" or that it will work for everyone. It is still important to know how much it costs per mile to run your equipment - but I always tried to take my methods of operation to the lowest common denominator instead of turning this into rocket science.

- Scott

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Scott is giving straight scoop. My biggest logic for the business is:
There comes a point in time that sitting ends up costing more than the fuel to dh back to the zone. Everyone of us has to figure out that point.

Depending where you're at, it may be a day, it may be three days. If you're on the west coast, it may be a week. If you're close to a weekend, your best bet is to sit until then, and dh on Saturday and/or Sunday. Some places are no-brainers for deadheading. FL, OK, upper Rockies, NM, AZ. In these cases, you'll find getting out as soon as you drop is usually the best.

The other point is to find out where you are on the board. If you're #6 in New England, better get out. #3 in Mississippi, start moving. #10 in Detroit, go to Ohio. Keep on top of knowing where you stand in your area, know your company's freight zones, know where the freight is moving from/to (ask dispatch), and balance the time vs fuel thing. You'll sit a lot less, and make more money.

 

[ATeam]

Tennesseehawk said,

>Scott is giving straight scoop. My biggest logic for the
>business is:
>There comes a point in time that sitting ends up costing
>more than the fuel to dh back to the zone. Everyone of us
>has to figure out that point.

That's true. Also note that expediters run with different carriers, run in different size trucks, and run in truck that are equipped differently than others; and some drivers have different credentials than others.

A carrier with a national reach may be able to keep a truck quite busy in California where California would be dead-man's land for a regional carrier that runs mostly East. Team drivers often get longer range loads than solo drivers do. Some carriers make HAZMAT training available that rises above the standard CDL HAZMAT endorsement. Drivers that have it avail themselves to more loads than drivers that don't. A reefer-equipped truck opens drivers to freight non-reefers cannot haul. A D-unit can carry loads a C or B unit cannot. A lift gate on the truck opens you to yet another class of freight.

While there may be six trucks on the board in a given location, if you are the only truck with certain equipment or credentials, your next-load prospects may well be better than the others.

Newbies should know that there is no final answer as to what areas are good or bad, until you know what carrier you are running for, what kind of truck you will be driving, what your credentials will be, and how your truck will be equipped. An area that is dead for one carrier may be quite busy for another. A particular city may be slow some days, days of the week (weekends), or seasons and very busy on others.

No matter how your truck is equipped or what carrier you run with, there will be days where you will have to make the sit-or-deadhead decision. And it's not just freight availability that enters in. In the example I gave above, one factor that entered into our decision to sit was our need to stop running for a bit and get started on your year-end paperwork. In this case, time sitting was put to productive use. In other cases, time sitting may be used to take in a tourist attraction or simply to rest.

Freight rates also enter in. If you are willing to run say a D-unit at a dollar a mile, you will stay busy as a bee...until you go broke. Sometimes it is wiser to decline cheap freight, even if it means sitting a while more. Other times a dollar-a-mile load may be gladly received (OK, maybe not gladly, but accepted just the same) because it gets you out of a slow area.

It is common for expediter wannabees to say they are willing to run the wheels off their truck once they get in it; and they are sincere. Newbies should also note that waiting for freight is a fact of life in expediting. Be prepared to do it.

 

[X1_SRH]

A-Team said:
"Freight rates also enter in. If you are willing to run say a D-unit at a dollar a mile, you will stay busy as a bee...until you go broke."

I disagree.

I kept my expenses under control. I drove a NEW stretched Freightliner Century Straight Truck and I could still turn a profit at a dollar a mile. Not as much as at full rate mind you, but still I could turn a profit and justify hauling that freight.

Newbies in straight trucks take note: Ensure that your business plan will allow you to still turn a profit at a rate of a dollar a mile plus fuel surcharge. If you cannot, get a cheaper truck or cut costs until you can.

Due to my business plan I could take loads that nobody else would touch. They sat, I ran. Some profit is better than going backwards eating, showering, and idling in a truckstop. If you will take loads that nobody else will or can, you will take their money while they sit and whine. I didn't take a steady diet of cheap freight - but when it was my only option I was happier to run cheaper than to sit - because my business plan allowed me to.

I didn't have a bunch of bells and whistles on my truck. That stuff is nice, but can you AFFORD it? will you use it on EVERY load? If not, remember that you are still paying for it every month. I had a solid truck, 4 load locks, about a dozen straps, and I stayed in service taking almost everything that came my way. We've got a lot of experienced straight truck folks in here that don't agree with my methods. Odds are that I probably hauled some of their freight.

I'm not reading this out of a book or making it up - This is not a happiness and sunshine recruiter story - it is a fact. I didn't just "hear" about it, I lived it.

Scott

 

[JohnMueller]

Well said Scott. Placing limitations on what you will do and won't do will limit the revenue you are able to produce. The ability to make a good business decision on sitting and waiting vs. deadheading is all part of the equation to being successful in expediting.

Thanks,
HotFr8Recruiter

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Pack... I see your point. But I also see the reasoning behind occasionally taking freight that has little or no profit. Simple... if you're stuck in California with nothing for a week, it makes sense to get back to the freight zone. You can either dh, or take an ltl (or expedite van freight). One way you make nothing, the other you make a few bucks. I'm not one to take a load "just to pay for fuel". I'd rather dh than take $.25/mi freight. But if I can find a good $.60-1.00/mi ltl, I'm there. With any luck, I can find two or more loads going to the same area.

We talk about not being able to make it on $1/mi. What do you think o/o of regular freight carrying semis do? My neighbor gets .95/mi+ fsc. Granted, that puts him over $1. But he also gets 5-7mpg. And he runs that constantly.

All Scott is saying is, that with a good budget, he can take the occasional low-paying freight to get to where he wants to go, and still come out in the black when all is said and done. We're not talking about a constant thing here. If you're sitting, aren't you losing money? Even if you eat crackers and cheese, and don't spend a dime, you're still losing potential income. I'd rather lose it in a way that I'm setting myself up to make a profit.

 

[Packmule]

Scott,

I salute you for being able to keep your cost down to be able to run freight at $1.00/mile and still be profitable. I cannot do this.
I look at all expenses,not just for the run being bid but long term expenses that will be incurred during the year (wear and tear on the truck,maintience,repairs,taxes,insurance,tires,risk involved to the truck and to ourselves everytime we move that truck). It doesn't matter if it's a $1.00/mile or $3.00/mile we still incur the same amount of expenses for the move.

I keep a very close eye on my expenses and overhead, and I do not drive a New truck. But I do not cut corners or skimp on maintiance or repairs in order to keep my truck as dependable as possible because it is the back bone of my business...No Truck...No loads...No matter how good or bad the rate is.

I am new to this industry (1 Year) but not new to business, and do not look at just one run at a time, but at the total picture and where I need to be at years end. I know it is risky business to take cheap runs with the hope of making up for them on better runs at a later date, because those runs may not come. Within the first 90 days I realized that I could not run some of the loads that were offered to me and still maintain a profitable business, a business that would be solid not just this year or next year but for years to come. This requires a good positive cash flow and substainual working capitol.
I hear guys/gals talking about getting into this business on a shoe string and living hand to mouth to make it work...will they survive long term? Some will...most won't.
I learned to say no to non-profitable freight early in my new career and ended up with a good first year with a working capitol that could take me well into the new year, but will I now take cheap freight...absolutely NOT!! It is important to me to continue in a positive growth mode because at anytime a major break down or any of several bad events could deplete that positive working capitol quicker than you can say "Freightliner!"

Scott, this is not a negative post to yours, please understand I wish you all the success you can earn, all I'm saying is I Can't do it within my business plan. and if it works for you Great, you can run all of my cheap offers that I turn down and we'll both be happy!

Dan

 

[Packmule]

Hawkman,

Yes you are right, there does come times when it makes good sense to take a low paying run to get back to the freight zones,,,if you allowed yourself to take a load into a bad zone without getting a rate for that load that would allow you to deadhead back out and still be within your profit requirements.

Does it cost to sit? of course it does. How much depends on you and your personal requirements during down time. Myself, I don't eat p-nut butter sandwichs, I do (or my wife does) prepare meals in the truck and it helps a little on cost VS a truck stop or resturant meal.

It is sometimes a hard call to move or not, or to take a non profit load or wait on a profitable load. After 24 hours of sitting I start heavy communication with my Carrier and by 30 hours I adjust my thinking a bit (as in lowering my minium CPM). At 36 hours it becomes time for me to make an investment in moving to a better location.

I guess you could call what you do and when you do it an educated business decision or you could call it just a plain out gamble.

I can relate to what you stated about your friend who is a T/T O/O.
I too have friends like that and after talking with them I realize they are surviving on High Volume miles. If they don't make 30K-35K per month the bills don't get paid. When they break they have to go to the bank and borrow money to make repairs,(NO working capitol)
If pride would allow them to admit it They would be MUCH better off driving for a large company like Werner, Swift, Snyder, at .40-.42 per mile with a new truck and benefits. But O/O truckers are a very proud breed and will go down with the ship before they will drive for the same companys they redicule and curse on the CB.

I also have friends who run with their own athority and have maybe a couple other trucks with drivers running for them. These guys are yet a different mentality.
At least the ones I know are. They have paid their dues over the years and survived and know how and why they did. And everyone has told me they did'nt do it running cheap freight. They used good business managment technics and knew and managed their overhead.
They knew their cost of operation and maintained a profit above this.
They all told me how important to bank a large % of your earnings to be prepared for slow times and the unexpected. As one freind stated "theres a guy named MURPHY controlling the trucking industry and he likes to come around and visit when you least expect him".
Some have told me there had been times in their careers when it made good business sense to park the trucks, take a 9-5 job to cover their living and family expenses until rates came back to where they could run profitable. By having a good bank account (Capitol) they were able to do this and cover business cost without breaking them.
It was shocking to see what they run for, $2.40/mile or they don't even consider the load. Most loads adveraged over $3.00 and I saw some west/East refer runs over $5.00/mile.

Sorry, don't know how I got off on this tangent, all I ment to say is you are right about doing what it takes to make your business work.

Dan

 

[jwgmover]

So what do you do when your sitting in a great area (Chicagoland) for 4 days going on 5. Is that the time to move carriers?

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